From the LA Times:

A relatively modest post-holiday drop put box-office phenom “The Blind Side” at No. 1 on its third weekend in theaters.

Meanwhile, four new movies in wide release opened to less than $10 million each, meaning that despite their modest budgets, all will probably struggle to reach profitability. In limited release, however, Paramount Pictures saw a very strong start for its well-reviewed George Clooney drama “Up in the Air.”

Check out these numbers of B.O revenues against production costs:

Twilight: New Moon: $570M (worldwide) / $50M

The Blind Side: $129.3M (domestic) / $35M

Both will make substantial profits. Now check out the new releases this weekend:

Brothers: $9.7M / $26M

Armored: $6.6M / $20M

Everybody’s Fine: $4M / $20M

Translymania: $274K / ???

Granted this is only the first weekend for these movies, but tough to see how these films have a profitable theatrical run, especially when you figure in P&A.

And then there’s Up in the Air:

“Up in the Air,” which was named the best film of the year Friday by the National Board of Review, debuted to a very strong $1.2 million at only 15 locations. Its average take of $79,000 per theater is the third-biggest for any movie this year, behind only “The Princess and the Frog” and “Precious.”

By all accounts, the movie will score big during award season. Critical reviews have been strong. As it rolls out, expect good word of mouth. I’ll predict $60M domestic B.O. and WGA Award for Best Adapted screenplay.